Salvation Army’s location in downtown Hillsdale.
Josephine von Dohlen | Collegian
The Hillsdale Brewing Company will host a food drive through next week to aid the local Salvation Army branch as it meets an increased need in the community.
“Every year we do more food drives because the locals need it so much, even more so now with the rising cost of food,” said Pamela Cobb, case manager at the Salvation Army branch in Hillsdale.
As food banks continue to serve the community, Cobb said, they can’t survive the holiday season without the help of food drives put on by local businesses like the Hillsdale Brewing Company.
“The rising food costs also make it hard to keep the food pantries stocked, so we require people to help with donations to keep allowing us to help people in town,” said Cobb.
In addition to a food drive hosted by Hillsdale Brewing Company, multiple other locations will also put on drives, Cobb said. Jonesville Middle School will host a food drive competition for students and the Reading Emergency Unit will fill an ambulance and distribute it at different pantries across Hillsdale. Hillsdale Family Chiropractic will also host a food drive, she said.
People turn to these food banks during the holiday season to escape the cold and feed their families, said junior Jihye Kim.
“The increase in demand might be indicative of the fact that around the holidays, as temperatures drop, things get colder, like people start getting more food and like warm places,” said Kim.
Heat costs also suck up family income, leaving less money for food, Kim said.
“These food drives run through the holiday season, with some already going, some starting this Monday, and some later on in December which all help us to feed around 1700-2200 people a month through the local Salvation Army Branch,” said Cobb.
The Salvation Army is always looking for help with running their food banks as well as with food drive collections, said Cobb.
“College students can definitely help with fundraising and collecting food by reaching out to the Salvation Army and requesting a barrel to collect food at the college,” said Cobb. “Most importantly, everything we do in Hillsdale County stays in Hillsdale County. All the food raised is used to feed the residents of Hillsdale County who need it most.”